Green Drink Reviews

Trans-Fatty Acids: There’s no Debate

September 17th, 2006

Margarine producers would love for you to think that the butter vs. margarine debate is still alive and well. But the debate was over some time ago. The discovery of trans fatty acids in margarine (which coat your arteries with fat deposits) delivered the final blow. Even if you once thought it was worth eating a semi-plastic hydrogenated oil (and all the poinsonous yellow dye added to it to mask its normally dark color) in order to save a whopping 3 grams of fat per tablespoon over butter, it should now be clear that since 2 of those 5 grams of fat in margarine are trans fats (responsible for all kinds of horrible stoppages in the body), you’re better off just getting the flavor and fat of butter.

But the margarine chemists have now come out with “zero-trans-fat margarine.” What up with that? Should we go back to eating soft plastic? Well, not if you consider how they achieve the zero mark for their labels. In short, they dilute the hydrogenated oil with water or liquid oil, thus reducing the amount of trans fats per tablespoon. If you were to dilute your butter with olive oil in the same way, you could reduce its percentage of saturated fat per tablespoon too. And keep the taste.

But here. Let’s just remove ourselves from this debate with the following all-natural, great tasting butter substitute. Ok, it doesn’t taste exactly like butter, but give it a chance. You might actually prefer it to butter after you get over your butter withdrawal.

Flaxseed Butter Substitute
1/2 cup flaxseed oil
1/8 cup brewer’s yeast flakes
1/4 cup lecithin granules
1/2 teaspoon honey

Mix the yeast in a spice grinder or coffee grinder until it turns to a powder, then stir it into the flaxseed oil and lecithin. Mix in honey. Use as a spread, just like butter. It works especially well on steemed veggies (cabbage, mmmm!). Store in the refrigerator.

NOTE: If you don’t like the taste of flaxseed oil, experiment with walnut and sesame oils — perhaps mixed with olive oil.

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